Star Ocean: the Novelization
by Wildcat Jason
Summary: A novelization of Star Ocean 1. Follow our hero, Roddick Farrence, as he lives the Roak Incident, and discovers things about himself he never thought possible. On hiatus until PSP version rewrite.
1. Prologue: The Destruction of Ise

Star Ocean: The Novelization

Prologue: The Destruction of Ise

Stardate 346

Now, through an unknown force, a new age is about to begin.

Is it God's will or an irony of fate?

And Mankind still makes its way through where no one has gone before.

People say that the universe is a star ocean.

Space

Planet Ise… A small, barren tan-colored planet. No discernable life, nearly no atmosphere, just something to look at when passing by… Other than that, no importance to anything.

Until 8 months ago. It was then that a huge beam flew through the confines of space, and straight towards the little, barren world, and obliterated it in an enormous, fiery explosion.

Only a few million miles from this, a ship makes its way through space. This ship is not just some ordinary space barge or travel ship, but an elite Federation military starship. Aboard, the crew notices nothing out of the ordinary, and things appear to be going as they should.

The captain looks at the stars pass by through the view screens as he types his latest log, he rest of the crew hard at work with their duties quietly.

Captain's Log 

Stardate 346

Our ship has completed its mission of deep space investigation right on schedule. Now, we're headed home.

The silence and logging is interrupted by a female voice..

"Would you like some coffee, Captain?"

"Yes, I'd like that." he responds.

She hands him a cup, when suddenly, Planet Ise's destruction comes into play.

"Thank you." he says. Just then, ths ships' alarms go off.

"Captain!" yells one of the crewmembers "W-we just picked up a huge amount of unidentified energy!"

"Where!"

"Mark 301.209 in Sector Gamma."

"Put it on the screen!" he yells as he runs up front.

"An enormous shockwave is approaching!"

"SHIELD THE SHIP!"

And with that the shockwaves of the event horizon of Planet Ise's end smashes into the ship, rocking it violently, the crew hangs on. At last, it stops, and the captain exclaims his utter shock and disbelief in three words.

"What the hell!"

Meanwhile, somewhere else…

"The test of our weapon was a success." a shaky voice spoke.

"Excellent. Did anyone see the fruits of our labor?" replied another voice. Strong, clear, firm, calculating…

"A Federation ship, from the looks of things, Sir…"

"Excellent. They will go crazy over this… Have you given Resonia everything they'll need?"

"The formula, the bioweapon, everything they'll need to carry out our… or their plans, rather."

"Good. Our plans will soon come to fruition… The Earthlings won't know what hit them! Ahahahaha!"

"Yes sir, Mr. Revorse."

"That's Lord Jie to you, imbecile…"

"S-sorry, Lord Jie."

It would be half a year later, in a different place, that a kink in this plan would come to light…


	2. The Clatos Brigade

****

Star Ocean: The Novelization

Chapter One: The Clatos Brigade

Clatos, a Town on the Planet of "Roak"

Roak, an earth-like planet somewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy. A shadow of glorious days past, but yet still a beautiful, seemingly untouched by advanced civilization, world. However, as of recent, a horrible pestilence has begun to eat away at the residents, an odd malady that turns whoever it infects into stone. In fact, only the continent of Moore, the continent Clatos was on, remained untouched by it for the moment…. But all that was about to change, but not just yet…

On the streets of the town, a figure ran past other residents, towards a house on a hill next to the town's north exit. A girl, in her late teens was the person in question, her maroon-blond hair bobbing with each hurried step. She seemed to have a very agile, feline grace to her movements, and for good reason, which could be told by the feature swishing behind her…a bushy tail, its fur the same color as her hair. This girl was no Human, rather, she was a being called a "Fellpool". While humans were descended from apes, the Fellpool race was descended from cats. Other than the telltale, er, tail, their ears were also pointed and elflike and much better at hearing than any human's.

"Gyaaa," she squeaked "I'm gonna be la-ate! That's Ratix's forte, not mine!"

Speaking of Ratix…

"Man, it's quiet around here." spoke a male voice. The owner of this voice was another Fellpool, with short, platinum blond hair. His eyes always seemed to have a happy tone, seemingly eternally shut. If you would be able to see the color of his eyes, you would be completely mesmerized by their brilliant emerald green hue. He wore a red bandanna around his head, and bluish-silver armor over a short tunic that ended above the knees, his legs below them wrapped in completely white material all the way to his toes. This however, is not the Ratix in question, rather, he is Ratix's best friend and fellow guardsman of the town, by the name of Dorn Marto.

"Yeah, but quiet also means peaceful." responded another male. This was Ratix Farrence, the hero of our tale. Like Dorn, he was also of the Fellpool race, and wore the same kind of armor, only with intricate yellow designs engraved onto it. He also wore a headband, a dark green one. Other than that, his style of dress was completely different from his friend's, a brown, long-sleeved shirt, a pair of pants the same color, he wore boots with armored greaves strapped to them. And then, there was his cape, brilliant and long, the same color as the rest of his clothing. His hair was a blackish blue, and would be truly unruly and flyaway if not for it being tied back into a ponytail. Like Dorn's, Ratix's eyes were green, but rather dull in comparison.

"What do you think of Milly?" Dorn suddenly asked.

Ratix's face turned into a look of questioning at that statement.

"Hmm… what do you mean?"

"This is just between you and me, but… she's so full of herself! And she's a tomboy…"

Ratix's face changed right there and then, as the girl from before entered the room, Dorn too busy with his talking to notice either her or Ratix's uneasy face. The girl's face became shocked for a second, as she began to walk forward, clenching her fists as Dorn continued. This girl, of course, was the Milly in question.

"On top of that, she's kinda dumb…"

The girl's face was now contorted with anger, a vein on her forehead already bulging.

"And she's also a bit of a loudmouth, too-OOF!"

That's when the girl's fist slammed into Dorn's back, and really hard at that.

"And just WHO are we talking about!" she exclaimed with a slight growl.

With that, Dorn turned around in surprise, and began to stammer and sweat profusely.

"Er, er, uhm…"

"You should be doing your JOB, NOT sitting around and talking!" she squawked.

"I told you, there's nothing to do!" Dorn whimpered, bracing for another hit from the girl.

At last, Milly calmed down a bit.

"Why don't you go patrol… or something. Heh, I'll even come with you."

"Looks like I'm stuck…" Dorn muttered to himself in annoyance.

Ratix nonchalantly got up and the trio went out to do their patrolling. And just in the nick of time too, because just as they got outside…

"What the--!"

Two figures bound across the roof of one of the buildings, dressed completely in gray, pants, shirts, and caps, even their tails. They leapt down, right next to a bystander, and the two looked at him, grinning, brandishing their knives.

"H-help! Thieves!" the bystander shouted as he ran.

Meanwhile, at the south entrance of town, more people ran as another pair of the thieves came through the gate, chuckling, tossing their blades from one hand to the other.

"Just great." Ratix mumbled.

"What are we waiting for! Let's teach 'em a lesson!" Milly cried.

"I'm ready." Dorn said, brandishing his broadsword as Ratix did the same with his thin-bladed one. Milly, having no weapon decided to stay behind and let them take care of the work. With that, the two boys ran towards two of the thieves. "You're going down!"

The thieves turned around in surprise, looked at each other, and chuckled, running forward, their knives drawn and ready.

Swords clashed with daggers as the two parties dueled, neither getting in a hit, both were swift, and both knew how to fight quite well.

Ratix bent over backwards dodging a slash from the knife of the thief, and giving him the chance to make a move, he swiped his sword, grazing the thief in the chest, slashing up his shirt and cutting a horizontal gash into him, green ichor seeping from the cut. With that, the thief backed up and ran for his life.

Meanwhile, Dorn was still fighting the other, the thief's knife missing him entirely as he jumped back. Dorn took this chance to swipe down, relieving the thief of his right arm. The thief screamed and cursed, looking at his twitching arm laying on the ground. He began to retreat, but the lack of blood soon got to him and he passed out cold only feet from the south exit.

The other thieves saw this, and looked at each other, and then the two charging them, then each other again.

"Gotta run!" they both exclaimed and fled, jumping over their fallen comrade, running behind another figure, a fat, slouched figure wielding an axe, and wearing a green Viking helmet. This guy was Baird, one of the most wanted men on the Moore continent.

"They's tougha than we thought, ain't dey?" exclaimed the thief, named Bitts, who had gotten the chest wound.

Baird scoffed.

"Don't make me laugh! They's nothin' but kids! Lemme show youse how it's done…"

"We're not kids!" Ratix shouted in offense "We're members of the Clatos Brigade!"

"Don't talk to us like that just because your guys are wimps…" Dorn said matter of factly.

"Yeah!" Milly chorused, keeping her distance by just a bit as she raised her hand towards the armless thief, sparkles suddenly engulfing the stump, the bleeding stopping and the wound healing cleanly. That thief had lost his arm, but his life would be spared, this time. Still, he stayed prone for the moment. "You weaklings."

"What didja say!" Baird bellowed angrily, checking the sharpness of his axe with his thumb.

"Let's get 'em, boss!" Bitts yelled, as the four criminals charged.

Now, the real fight was on. The thieves weren't the big problem, Baird was. He smashed straight through Ratix and Dorn's defenses, knocking them backwards and away. Luckily, their armor saved them from any real harm other than some bruising. Ratix got up again, just as Bitts ran up from behind, knife ready to exact revenge on his body.

"Look out, behind you!" Dorn yelled, just in the nick of time as Ratix whirled around, his sword finding itself going through Bitts' torso, fatally wounding him, a state of shock etched on his face.

The other two thieves rushed Ratix in anger, but Dorn smashed the flat of his sword on one's head, knocking him out cold, his free hand punching the other in the face, sending him falling flat on his back, green pouring form his nose.

Baird was absolutely pissed off now, and roared, swinging his axe at Dorn, slashing into his shoulder. Baird grinned and raised it to strike the killing blow to Dorn's head, only to have his arms cut off at the elbows by Ratix, his axe flying wildly into the air, before landing in Baird's skull, this helmet falling to the ground in two as his body landed on his face with a sharp thud, the green quickly pooling underneath him.

After a few minutes, the trio cleaned up the mess and tied up the survivors. The townspeople began to give their thanks.

"It was nothing…" Ratix told the crowd "It's just what we do. It's our job."

Milly began to giggle and laugh at this.

"Huh, aren't you cool."

Ratix turned to Milly and gave her a dirty look, grumbling, as she simply stuck out her tongue.

Later that evening, the three brigadiers were now at Ratix's house.

Ratix's mother, who had hair like his, and wore a green dress, walked to the group, holding a tray with several teacups.

"Your tea is ready." she said with a smile "Please make yourself at home."

Milly took the tray with a smile, placing it between her and Dorn, Ratix shaking his head, not in the mood for some at the moment.

"Those thieves were a piece of cake, wouldn't you say?" Dorn asked, taking a sip.

Milly giggled.

"What are you talking about? They were pretty dangerous."

Ratix stayed silent, turning away a little.

"Ratix, what's wrong, you don't seem too cheerful." Milly said.

"He's been like this lately." his mother said, sighing, as Ratix stared out the window at the stars.

After a while, Milly and Dorn were set to leave.

"See you later." Dorn said, giving a wave.

"Okay." Ratix replied, still looking distant.

"Show us a happy face tomorrow, Ratix." Milly responded, truly worried as they two turned around and left, thanking Ratix's mother.

"Come back again." she responded.

With that, Ratix wandered off to his room, putting on his nightclothes, and plopping down on the bed, and snuggled under the covers, his face still filled with doubt.

"Because being quiet means it's peaceful?" he sighed, closing his eyes and struggled to get some sleep. Finally, he drifted off.

****

To be continued.


	3. Epidemic

****

Star Ocean: The Novel

Chapter Two: Epidemic

The Next Day…

"Ratix…!" his mother called, as he shuffled in bed, groaning, but falling back asleep.

"Ratix. Get up!" she called again.

"Nnh."

"Come on!" she said, shaking him gently.

He groaned, and opened his eyes.

"You have work today, don't you?"

"Yeah… I'll be up in a minute."

"Okay, Ratix."

After he got dressed and ready, he headed out, kissing his mother's cheek.

"I'll be okay, Mom. And I'll try my best for dad, too. I wish he were here right now…"

She nodded, as he began to leave.

"Could you go by and see if Fraise has anything for me, Ratix?"

"Sure thing, Mom."

With that, Ratix exited his house and walked down his sidewalk, and soon turned left, towards the grocery store, and headed inside. At the counter was an old woman, a scarf over her head, and she was pacing about as he usually did.

"Oh, hi, Ratix!" the woman, Fraise called "Could you tell your mom I've got vegetables ready?"

"Okay." he said, with a nod, and returned to his house for a moment, peeking his head through the door. "Hey, Mom, Fraise says she has vegetables ready for you."

"Okay, thanks… I'll go right away. You just worry about getting to your job."

Ratix nodded, and quickly left, heading to Clatos Brigade Headquarters. As he went on, he got several comments, either compliments about what a good job he was doing, or telling him he'd be late, or asking him why he wasn't with Milly. He either said thanks or ignored them and continued up the steps to the HQ, where a none too happy Milly was waiting.

"You're late yet again!" she cried "Get inside, Dorn's already there."

And so, the two went in, where Dorn was waiting for them.

"Late as usual, I see, Ratix… Get inside, the Elder says he needs to talk to us about something important."

"Let's go." Ratix responded, and headed into the office where the Elder was waiting "Hello, Elder… what's going on?"

"Something horrible has happened! Take a look at this letter…"

The Elder handed Ratix a folded sheet of paper, which he opened, and his expression looked none too happy when he read it, as he showed it to Milly and Dorn.

"This is terrible…" Dorn sighed.

The note read as follows.

__

Please, send help! Our village has succumbed to a terrible disease, the same one that has already taken out the town of Portmis to the north, not to mention the other continents! It is highly contagious, so be careful. We are suffering, we beg you for help…

Elder of Cool Village

"What do we do?" Ratix asked.

"We help them, of course!" Dorn said.

"If we had the great healing herb from the summit of Mount Metox, we might be able to stop this…" Milly explained "It's said the herb can cure anything…"

"Well then, let's" Ratix began, but was stopped by another voice.

"Wait!"

With that, a tall man ran in, his hair and tail the same color as Milly's. He wore blue and green robes and a green headband. This man was Milly's father, Maltos Killiet.

"Father!"

"Oh, Maltos!" the Elder exclaimed "You intend to go? As one of, if not the best healing mage of all of Clatos, I will be quite relieved if you go and check out what is going on."

Maltos simply nodded.

"They're calling it a mysterious disease, but I should be alright. The rest of you, stay here while I go."

Milly was bout to protest, but decided otherwise.

Seeming to know what Milly was thinking, he looked at her.

"Don't try anything dangerous like going to Mt. Metox. Alright?"

Milly nodded, and Maltos exited.

That night, after some more discussion with the Elder, he was set to leave.

"So, if anything new happens, you'll be sure to let me know, yes?"

"We'll take care of everything, Elder." Dorn replied.

"See you later."

After the Elder left, Dorn turned to Ratix and Milly, who were both seemingly sad and distant at the moment.

"Hey you two, cheer up… Ratix, I understand why Milly's feeling this way, but what's with you? You've been like this for the past few weeks…"

Ratix gave no response.

"Dude, tell me something, anything…"

"I don't feel like talking about it, Dorn. I'm sorry." he finally responded "It's nothing to do with you guys, really."

"Okay, Ratix…"

"I'm going to head home."

"Okay, later…"

And with that, Ratix exited.

"I really wish I knew what was wrong, Ratix…"

Meanwhile, Maltos had made it into Cool, a small remote village just a few miles from Clatos. Once, long ago, it was a flourishing town, with brilliant paintings and buildings, but it had decayed much, the old buildings now made up its bridges and sidewalks, although some refurbished buildings remained. Usually, it was bustling with activity, even in this day and age, but now it as eerily quiet. He quickly ran to a house, and knocked on the door.

"Hello?"

No response. He knocked again, louder.

"Hello?"

"They can't hear you…" said a voice.

Maltos quickly turned around, to see an elderly man in front of him.

"I came as soon as I heard what was on the letter. I'm Maltos."

"You're too late, Mr. Killiet. I'm one of the last remaining few who hasn't succumbed…"

"No! It can't be… please tell me it's not true…" he said, putting his hands on the man's shoulders. Big mistake. The old man yelled, jumping back.

"You… you touched me…"

"I-I'm sorry. I guess you don't like being touched, huh?"

"No… the disease…. It's contracted through touch… You… you've just doomed yourself."

"What? I-I-I…aargh…"

With that, Maltos squinted his eyes in concentration, and a light began to sweep throughout he village, over everything until it reached the outskirts.

"I hope that worked…" he said, holding his head "Took a lot out of me…"

The old man looked at him.

"Let's go see," he said, opening the door to the house, Maltos following him inside. The residents were still snuggled in their beds, like statues, unmoving, their bodies completely gray and rock hard.

"Damn it…. Maybe I should try again, tomorrow after I get some rest…"

"It may not work… another healing wizard came by, and he was unable to do a thing… he's now at the north exit for eternity…"

"I have to try, though…. If I don't, it may never be cured…. This could be the end of our world… the end of all of us. Even if we didn't touch others, we would eventually die for certain."

"There's a house at the north end of town… you can sleep there. The people who live there haven't been turned yet, just tell them who you are and they should let you stay."

"Alright, thanks."

And so he stayed. But no matter what he tried, rested or no, he couldn't cure the residents. He tried spell after spell after spell and medicine after medicine. Finally, after a day and a half of trying, he was himself in no condition to do anything but lie in bed.

Before he gave up, however, he picked up a piece of paper and began to write on it.

__

I thought I could cure Cool of the disease, but this has not become the case. I, myself, have contracted the disease, and I don't have much longer before I, too, will be gone. I fully regret that I was not able to do anything.

To who gets this, please stay away from Cool. There is no hope for us, we are doomed, unless we keep to ourselves. Mere touch will pass the disease on, so it is imperative that no one else comes in contact with anyone infected.

Maltos Killiet

Quickly, he attached the note to a carrier pigeon, and sent it off in the direction of Clatos, before walking to the bed and laying down. Any day now, he would be a statue as well. May the fates rest his soul, he thought.

****

To Be Continued


	4. Infection

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Star Ocean: The Novel

Chapter Three: Infection

Clatos

It had been two days since Maltos had left for Cool, and not a word had been heard from him since. Ratix, Dorn, and Milly were currently sitting at Ratix's front porch, looking out for anything in particular to watch out for.

"Another boring day…" Ratix murmured, looking at a big, fluffy cloud slowly pass overhead.

Dorn glanced at Ratix for a moment.

"I guess it is… But, hey, we get some excitement every once in a while…"

"Still, I wish I had more excitement in my life. Once in a while, it isn't good enough sometimes…"

"Is that why you've been so glum? Because life is boring you?"

"That's partially it…. I just feel I don't do enough with my life, you know? I wish something really interesting would happen… But I know that's not going to happen. It's just gonna be the same old thing, on a different day. I hate it, I really do."

"Something's bound to happen eventually, you know. You just have to wait for it."

"Dorn is right, Ratix," Milly added "Something interesting is bound to happen sooner or later! You just wait and see."

"I guess so…" Ratix said, drifting off, as something came into view and got closer to them. A carrier pigeon landed to the side of them, cooing and chirping. A note was also tied to its leg.

"I'll get it," Dorn said, picking up the bird and releasing the letter from it, and then sent it off.

"What's it say?"

Dorn turned a little pale, as he read it aloud. Ratix was shocked, and Milly was absolutely horrified. Before the boys could say anything, she took off running, tears in her eyes as she dashed towards the north exit.

"Milly, wait!" Ratix called after her, but she was too engrossed in the news to pay attention to it, and kept on going.

"We need to go after her, you know," Dorn said "Who knows what could happen to her in her current state."

"I know… come on!"

Meanwhile, Milly was running as fast as her legs would carry her, as thoughts of her life and her father swam through her head.

__

"Father!" called out a young Milly, running towards Maltos, hugging him tightly.

"Milly, how are you today?" he asked, hugging her back.

"I'm fine, Father. Where did you go?"

"I was checking out Astral… They were dealing with a huge sickness, but I and some others took care of it. They're all fine now…"

"How can I become a great Heraldry Wizard like you?"

"Faith, a strong will, and lots and lots of practice and experience…"

"Can I become one, though?"

"Of course you can. You just need to be a little bit older, okay? Teaching one magic at such a young age can sometimes lead to unexpected problems in the process."

"I understand. I can't wait until the day I can! "

"Me either."

Milly gave of a brief smile as she passed by the Starship. The starship was something that had crashed into the planet three centuries before, and it remained a mystery even to these days. Some say some of the Gods came on it to check up on the world, others say that it was always there, and the crash was just a legend. Her thoughts turned to her father once again, about two years after her last memory.

__

"So you see, Milly, Heraldry is a power of one's heart and soul."

"So, what are the tattoos for, then?"

"They amplify and exude dormant energy from the mind, body and spirit. It can do anything from healing and helping people, to calling upon the destructive forces of nature to cause harm. But if one uses it with noble intentions, they will use that destructive power for good, never evil. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand... So, can I become a Heraldic Wizard yet? I know I've asked it many times, but…"

"I suppose you are old and strong enough now, Milly. We can begin your training as soonas you're ready."

"I'm ready now! Let's go!"

"Alright, alright.," Maltos said with a laugh "Let's go begin your training."

"Okay, Father!"

Meanwhile, Ratix and Dorn were beginning to catch up, but Milly was still quite far ahead of them. Dorn felt weird for a split second, but shrugged it off, as they continued onward.

Just a little while later, the two had reached Cool, just in time to see Milly run down one of the streets.

"There she is." Dorn said "Come on!"

Meanwhile, Milly's thoughts continued.

__

"This can't be happening… it just can't!" she said to herself, as she reached the house furthest up the road, and entered, Dorn and Ratix in hot pursuit.

She opened the doors and entered.

"Milly, what are you doing here!" Maltos demanded, somewhat weakly, but still strong "I thought I instructed specifically not to come here…"

"But your letter! I… I had to come…"

"Milly…"

"Milly!" called out Ratix as he entered with Dorn.

Milly looked at them for a moment, and then at her father, as she stepped towards him.

"D-don't come near, Milly. By merely touching me, you could get infected, and I don't want that to happen. You must continue on…" Dorn warned.

"But… I… I want to comfort you and yet, I cannot even hold your hand or anything… I…"

"Cool is doomed. You must not allow Clatos to come to the same fate… It must survive this disease…"

Milly looked at her father, for a second more before dropping to her knees, sobbing.

Ratix and Dorn glanced at each other for a moment.

"Please take Milly back to Clatos with you…"

"We will, sir." Ratix said "Come on, Milly, let's get back to Clatos…"

"Yeah…" Dorn added.

Milly stood back up, wiped her eyes and walked out with Ratix and Dorn.

"I'm so sorry, Milly…" Maltos whispered to himself and went back to sleep.

****

That Night

Dorn was wandering around town, when he noticed Milly by the north gate.

"Milly…" he said "Shouldn't you be at home?"

"Without my father? I don't feel like going home…"

"Ah. Well… what are you doing now?"

"I…"

"You want to go to Mt. Metox and get the herb from its peak, don't you?"

"Yes…"

"Well, don't think I'm gonna let you go out aloargh!"

Dorn suddenly dropped to his knees, shaking.

"Dorn?" Milly yelled, going towards him.

"Don't come near me…"

"But" Milly began, but suddenly dashed off to get help. "Ratix! Ratix!"

"Why is it when she needs help, the first thing that always comes to her mind is Ratix…? Always Ratix…"

Ratix was busy staring at the stars from his window again, when he heard a loud knocking and Milly frantically calling his name. He ran up to the door, and opened it.

"Milly, what's going on?"

"It's Dorn! Something's wrong!"

"What?"

The two ran back to the north gate, Dorn was there, standing up as if nothing had happened.

"Dorn!"

"I told you I was okay!" Dorn shouted "I just got dizzy from standing up too long… Ratix, Milly wants to go to Mt. Metox and get the herb…"

"Yeah…"

"I see," Ratix said "So, should we go together?"

"I don't have any problems with that." Milly said "Let's go get that herb and save my dad, and Cool…"

"So, we're off, then." Dorn stated, as the three left for Mt. Metox. Already, Dorn knew what was really going on with him… He'd been infected by the disease.

****

To Be Continued

Author's Notes

Whew, three chapters and a prologue done already, and this story has only begun! I'm glad everyone's liking this story so far, thanks for commenting and reading.

I'm willing to bet you're wondering why I'm writing a Novelization for Star Ocean 1. The answer is simple. Lots of people have not had the chance to play this first game in this spectacularly weaved series. So, I'm kind of making this novel to get the word out on Star Ocean 1's story. But I'm also making this because I've written quite a few things over the past few years, and I never once done a video game novelization. Lots of people have done novelizations of other games, so I would love to add to the numerous novelizations out there with a game that, in my opinion, really deserves one of its own.

I'd like to thank Lucius Greiner for getting me into SO in the first place, without his help and friendship, this novel may not have been possible. He's also helped me with my story and given his thoughts on my story from behind the scenes. He's truly an awesome guy, and he's writing a novelization of his own of the second game in this series. Not only that, he's also writing a fanfic that takes place before this story, about two other characters in SO1, Ronixis J. Kenni and Iria Silvestoli. Speaking of which, Ronixis and Iria will make their appearance in the next chapter. I suggest giving his stuff a look.

I would like to say more, but this author note's getting too long already, so I'll leave you be until next chapter.

Jason Winter aka TheMechanirex


	5. The Summit and the Strange Star

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Star Ocean: The Novel

Chapter Four: The Summit and the Strange Star

And so, our three left for Cool Village. When they entered, they noticed a frightening sight. The old man who had warned many a person of entering the town was now a statue.

"Poor old man," Dorn muttered to himself as they continued onwards "And if we don't get this herb, I will be joining you…."

"What, Dorn?" Milly asked.

"Huh? Oh, nothing, just talking to myself."

"I can see that. About?"

"N-nothing special."

"Okay."

Milly, however, didn't think it was nothing… There was something definitely wrong, but she decided not to push it further.

Soon, the group reached he house Maltos was staying in.

"I'm going in to check on my father for a moment," she said.

"Wait!" Ratix said "Didn't he tell us not to come back here? We're kind of disobeying him, you know."

"Just for a minute."

"But--"

With that, she barged inside before the boys could do anything else.

"M-milly…" Maltos said weakly but firmly "I thought I told you… not to come… back here."

"I have to do something, I can't just sit around while you and the whole world continue to be turned to stone… I…"

"S-stubborn as ever, Milly…. Go…"

Milly sighed, and left.

"C'mon, let's get that herb… we have to."

Meanwhile, back inside, Maltos took one last look at the door as it closed, Milly's form vanishing from his sight. And with that, he turned to stone, a single tear rolling down his cheek as it happened.

It didn't take long for the three to reach the bottom of Mt. Metox, as it was just a few yards from the north gate. In the night, the mountain sparked a brilliant grayish blue, its grassy and stony paths winding upwards and upwards into the sky. At the summit, one could see the entire continent if they had the right equipment.

"Alright, guys." Ratix said "Let's go."

"Be careful of Fellworms, too." Milly warned "They have a taste for Fellpool meat, you know."

"And don't forget the eggs they lay, too." Dorn shuddered "If we carried those eggs back into town, man, would we be in trouble."

"I know, I know." Ratix said, as the three began their way up.

Of course, Fellworms weren't the only thing to worry about. At night, many types of vicious biting insects came out, looking for any unsuspecting fool to take a bite into

"Ow!" Milly yelled as she smacked a bug that had bit her neck "Stupid bugs."

"Tell me about it…" Ratix sighed as he scratched his arms from the bites he was receiving.

Dorn, however, remained quiet, and didn't say a word, he was too worried at the moment to care about the bugs, which were snapping him like crazy.

Milly smacked another bug off of her as they came to a small clearing on the path. There, a relief of a lion's head stood, and out of the mouth flowed bright, sparkling water. Legends have said that the fountain never ran dry, and everyone who came here believed it, because no one had ever seen it ever happen.

"Hmm…" Ratix began "Should we take a drink?"

"It is said that it refreshes anyone who drinks it.." Milly said, scratching herself "Maybe it'll get our bites to stop… itching! Grr!"

"Sounds good to me." Dorn agreed, as the three went to the relief and scooped up some of the wter in their hands and drank.

"Wow!" Milly squeaked as the water took effect "It really does work wonders. I don't itch anymore, and I feel like I could go on for a long time!"

"Yeah…" Ratix said "This stuff does make you feel better."

"Indeed." Dorn added, but he actually didn't feel any different than before. Granted, the itching had stopped, but there were more pressing matters.

The three took some more of the water with them just in case they'd need it again. As they continued, they also picked some berries off the vines growing on the mountain walls. Nearly everything on this mountain had healing properties of some kind, the only thing that kept Metox from being called the Mountain of Healing were the creatures. Such was life, though.

Soon, they reached another clearing further up, and began to pass through it when they heard a low growl.

"What was that!" Milly asked, jumping a little.

"Dunno…" Dorn said "Probably just an animal or something."

Another growl, this one louder.

"I think I know what it is," Ratix said, readying his sword.

"Great. First, annoying bugs and now…"

Another growl, this one really loud, as two shapes scrambled up the mountainside . It didn't take long to realize Ratix had been right as they could finally see the two creatures. They were green and yellow caterpillar-looking things, with black heads, that hid underneath them red fluff surrounding a mouth of sharp teeth. These, of course, were Fellworms.

They boys backed off a little, getting in front of Milly as the creatures began to wriggle closer and closer and then suddenly stop. And with that, they leapt at them, the two rolled under his jumping attack and tried to slash at them, but their swords simply scraped against their armored hides. But his was enough to irritate them, and they went after the boys and left Milly alone.

Once again, they dodged the worms as they once again tried to jump up and bite them, Ratix managed to flip one over onto its back and stab down into its soft belly, it squirmed and wriggled and hissed for a few seconds, before falling limp, before he pulled it back out.

Dorn was having a harder time, however, as he was starting to feel really strange once again. Again, the worm attacked, but this time, it bit into him as he yelled in pain, and began to beat the creature in the head until it let go. His attacks now began to be slow and uneasy, the Fellworm was getting the advantage now, and after a few more movements, it once again leapt, but Dorn held his sword in front of him, and the worm was impaled right onto it, as he quickly swung, sending the thing crashing into the mountainside, causing rocks to fall on top of it, killing it at last.

"Ouch, that… that was tough…" Dorn began as he doubled over "Arrgh…"

Milly and Ratix began to walk towards him to help, but when they were about to help him up…

"Don't touch me. I can get up by… myself!" Dorn snapped as he pulled himself back up and applied some juice from a berry by crushing it, which miraculously closed his bite wound and stopped it from bleeding.

"What is wrong with you!" Milly growled "This is the second… time… Oh no… Dorn, are you-- You're infected, aren't you!"

"Dorn, is she right?" Ratix asked with extreme concern, now realizing what he should have before.

"It… it must have happened when I handled that bird…" he finally admitted "It must have been infected from whoever sent it off… I didn't want you to worry… besides, once we get that herb, this will be over."

"Still, you could have told us anyway… We would have understood."

"Really, Dorn…" Milly sighed.

"Let's stop dwelling on this and get that herb so this will end."

"Ratix is right. On we go."

And so, the three continued up, as the mountain got higher, plants grew less, and the biting bugs finally stopped being a nuisance. But once again, only a few feet from the summit, they had to deal with more Fellworms. Dorn stayed behind on this one and watched Ratix take them down with little effort.

"Damn things…" Ratix grumbled "Hopefully this will be the last time we have to deal with them."

"Hope so…" Dorn and Milly said at almost the same time.

"Hmm, look at that star…" Milly suddenly said, pointing up "I don't think I've ever seen it in the sky before, and it's awful big and shiny…"

The boys looked up, and indeed, there was a large, shiny object in the night sky. It looked really weird.

"That's one strange star." Dorn spoke "Let's hope it's a good omen rather than a bad one."

"Indeed," Ratix said, nodding in agreement as they made their way to the top "We made it!"

"Yes, and there's the herb!" Milly said, pointing to the enormous flower growing on the side of the mountain.

"Let's get it and leave." Dorn replied as they went forward, when suddenly, a strange noise came from out of nowhere…

"Great, more monsters?"

And that's when two pillars of white-green light just appeared before them, swirling and vibrating.

"What the!"

The pillars of light began to fade, as two figures appeared from within. The first figure was a tall, thin man with short black-blue hair, the other one was a lovely blond woman, she also had short hair, but she also had a ponytail slung over one shoulder. Both of them wore green and white suits made of some strange, smooth material. They looked sort of like soldiers…

They looked at the two, the two looked at them and then at each other, and then they began conversing in some weird language for a moment, they seemed as surprised as Ratix and his friends. Then they did something odd, tapping the sides of their heads a few times.

"That's better, don't you think?" the woman said to the man. The two had gone from speaking some freaky language to speaking the one the three spoke, and perfectly, as far as they could tell.

The three continued to gawk.

"Er…" the guy began "Ah! Hello, and greetings. My name's Captain Ronixis J. Kenni."

****

To Be Continued


	6. Beyond the Sky

****

Star Ocean: The Novel

Chapter Five: Beyond the Sky

The three blinked. These two people had appeared from out of nowhere speaking some strange dialect, and now they were speaking their language and introducing themselves… or at least the man was.

"Wh-who are you?" Milly squeaked, beginning to back away slowly.

"Y-yeah… a name's not going to be enough…" Ratix warned, reaching for the hilt of his sword.

"You have nothing to fear from us," the woman stated "I'm Iria Silvestoli, by the way."

"Where do I start explaining?" Ronixis announced as the Fellpools calmed down a little bit, but stayed tense, until Iria started to step forward.

"Stay away from us!" Milly growled as she began to prepare a spell.

Iria seemed frustrated now.

"Look, I'll explain for the Captain, just calm down, we are not here to bring you any harm."

The three still felt uneasy but calmed down again, if only to listen to what these two had to say.

"I can't answer your question, but we are your friends, not your enemies," she said.

"Oh really?" Milly asked, still a little skeptical.

"Yeah, right!" Dorn cried out, brandishing his sword "There's no way you could be friends of ours…"

"We only came to get that herb, so could you please leave us alone?" Ratix responded, staying much calmer than his friends were being at the moment.

"If you want to cure the illness that's infecting your people," Iria said "There is something much better and more effective than this herb here."

The three were dumbstruck. Did she just say that there was something better than the Healing Herb?

"Just who are you guys?"

"Do you feel like listening to us now?"

"If that's all, sure, why not?"

"You may not believe this at first, but we have come from a far away placed to save you."

Ratix raised an eyebrow.

"Then why didn't you come sooner?"

"Something called the Undeveloped Planet Protection Act. We could not choose to make contact with any still developing civilizations."

"What do you mean by that?"

"We came from above and beyond the sky, from a world far, far away. We decided that it was necessary to make an exception in this particular case."

"Above the sky….? Another world? Uhh, okay."

"A-are they… are you gods?" Milly squeaked, going from withheld panic to awe and wonder "The gods have come to save us! Haha!"

Milly was now hopping up and down manically, the gods had come to save them!

"No, we're not gods," Iria said suddenly, and Milly stopped her bouncing and looked a bit disappointed "We're the same sort of people you are. We're just as mortal as you. But we don't have tails…"

Sure enough, Iria turned around for them, showing that indeed, she had no tail.

"You're right," Milly said "You don't."

"Problem is…" Iria began again, her voice turning to a more serious tone "Resonia, a group we're having hostilities with has broken the Act, and using a chemical weapon, caused the very same disease you are currently dealing with."

The three couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"So it's this… this Resonia's fault that everyone is turning into stone…?" Ratix asked, none too happy with this news.

"That is correct."

"Unforgivable…" Milly muttered, her fists clenching.

"We came to investigate, and cure the blight they have thrown upon your world."

"That's why we came here, to help you. Problem is, the method which we are planning to use…. At this time in your development, it's something beyond your conception," Ronixis added.

"I still don't know if I can believe you," Milly said "But if you can cure us of this disease, then I suppose we don't have any other choice but to let you help us out, I suppose."

"Like Milly said," Ratix spoke "I don't believe you much either, but if you can cure Dorn, we'll do what you want…"

"That's me," Dorn said with a nod.

"Well, we don't know if we can actually cure it or not," Iria said with a sigh "But if you come with us, we might be able to make a vaccine against it."

"Uh, what's a vaccine?" Milly asked.

"It's basically taking the things that cause a disease and turning them against others of its kind to eliminate it. It's really complicated, but it's also sort of not, you see."

"Ah."

"So, does this mean… that you're going to take us beyond the sky?" Ratix asked.

"If you put it that way," Ronixis said "Then yes. Problem is, if we take you, you may not be able to return to your world ever again. Legal reasons and all that, because of the Act, you see. But, you could just get the herb and continue on your way while dismissing this as a figment of your imagination or a dream."

"Well, I'm going with them," Dorn said "If I stay here, well, I'm just going to turn into a statue like everyone else… I don't think have any other choice."

"To leave my father and everyone else forever…" Milly sighed "..or Dorn. I don't know if I could choose."

"I think we should go with Dorn," Ratix said "We can't stay here, especially if we can't help everyone. There's nothing we an do to help other than let them help us. Yeah, it will be sad we won't be able to stay here, but if they can help our people, then it'll all be worth it."

Milly nodded sadly, she knew Ratix was right. If it would help, they had to go.

"It's decided, then," Iria announced "We will leave immediately. Please close your eyes for one moment."

"Uh, why?" Milly asked, as Iria fiddled with some strange box-like object, suddenly, everything went white, and Milly felt like she was being pulled apart piece by piece, and she screamed. Next thing she knew, though, she and the others were in some strange metal room. "What… was… that?"

"Wh-where are we?" Ratix asked, looking around in mass confusion at the new surroundings.

"This is our ship, the Calnus." Ronixis stated.

"So you guys ARE gods after all?" Milly asked, utterly confused.

"As we said, we are not gods," Iria began "We're just a lot more technologically advanced than you are. Someday, far in your future, you will probably figure out how to make such devices."

Ratix simply raised an eyebrow and stepped off the circle on the floor under his feet, as the others followed suit, Milly and Dorn still awing over the insane place they were now in.

"Let's get Dorn to our medical center." Ronixis stated, as he walked up to a door which magically opened by itself as he got close, making the three Fellpools jump. This was getting real weird real fast. And that wasn't all. As soon as they stepped into the next room, the floor started moving forward.

"The floor is moving." Ratix gaped "How is this possible…? All these things, I've never seen them before, and yet, they're all so interesting."

"Now that I think of it, I don't think you have told us YOUR names yet."

"Milly Killiet."

"Dorn… Marto…" Dorn groaned, falling to his knees "Oh…"

"Captain, his condition is worsening!" Iria shouted.

"Get him to the medical center, NOW!" Ronixis yelled as they came to the end of the moving path,.

"I… I can walk there." Dorn grunted, getting back up, but shaking like a leaf. Another two automatic doors, they made it into the medical ward. All around, there were beds, each attached to a bunch of strange, metal devices. A short plump bespectacled man wearing a white apron and hat, both with red crosses on them led Dorn to one, and instructed him to lie down. When he did, a light encompassed him, but even though Ratix and Milly were surprised yet again, Dorn just laid there. He had no reason to fight this, he knew.

"What is this anyway?" Ratix asked, poking at the strange machines surrounding Dorn.

"Hey, be careful with that!" the doctor yelled, as Ratix jumped before stopping and backing off.

"It's how we give medical treatment to other people, you see… It, er, 'reads' a person's body and then tells us what is wrong with it, while trying to create something or telling us about things we can get to help," Iria explained.

"Like a book?" Ratix said.

"I suppose that's one way to put it. At least in a way you would understand."

"Interesting."

Milly was also listening in to this, it sounded pretty weird, but somehow, it sounded…. Right.

"Doctor, I leave this to you," Ronixis said.

"Gotcha," the doctor replied, going up to some strange glass window with a bunch of lights and images.

"Since you're here now and there's nothing I can do about it now, would you like to look around the ship, coming all this way and all?"

"Captain," Iria complained "Isn't that a direct violation of--"

"A little too late for that, now, you think? You show them around, while I go to the bridge."

"But, Captain!" Too late. Ronixis was already out the door. "Grr… really, now! Okay, okay, since he's obviously going to be a pain in the butt, let's go. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask."

"Right," Milly and Ratix responded as they went out the automatic door. They continued back to a room right after the moving floors. Ratix and Milly had only briefly checked out the room, but now that they were free to move about at their own pace, they finally noticed the odd circular panels on the floor.

"What are these?" Milly asked.

"They're elevator ports," Iria explained "We use these to travel through different parts of the ship at a fast pace. Simply stand on the circle, and then tell it whether you want to go up or down. As for how they work…"

"That's okay. You don't have to tell us."

"Uh, right. The one on the left goes to the bridge, and nowhere else so it'll take you automatically. The right one, you'll have to direct it. Just say where you want to go out loud, and it will take you there."

The two nodded and stood on the disc to their right, Iria following suit.

"Uh, up one!" Ratix called out, but there was an unpleasant beep and nothing else.

"It doesn't go up from here, actually. This is the top floor, so to speak."

"Er, right. Uhh, down one!"

And with that, there was a loud click and then a whir, as the disc flew downward, taking them on it. It was a little startling, but it was going slow enough so they didn't just simply fly off. After a moment, it stopped at another floor.

"Wow, this is pretty neat."

"I'll say, Ratix," Milly gasped "Quite a ride… Whew…"

"Let's see what's behind this door…"

And so, Ratix went into one of the doors on this floor, and they came into a strange room. There was a little walkway going only halfway into the room, the rest was an odd, black and green mess of interweaving lines on the floor.

"This is the holodeck…" Iria began, only to be interrupted by Ratix asking what it was "Gah, I'm getting to that! It allows us to experience things that appear completely real but are almost completely fake. We can train, battle things it creates, all sorts of stuff. Let me show you. Holodeck, list all of the battle programs!"

With that, a bunch of words made of light appeared in midair, startling Milly, but just piquing Ratix's curiosity. He couldn't understand the words, though.

"Uhh, Holodeck, please put those words in my language."

And with that, it was done.

"Wow! Milly squeaked "Lesse, all these look pretty interesting…"

"Just don't choose the--" Iria began.

"Hmm, this looks neat. Celestia, uhh, start?"

"No, not that one! Couldn't you wait for me to tell you NOT to ask for that one!"

"What's wrong with it?" Ratix asked, as the scenery changed to some strange-looking cave full of crystalline structures. Suddenly, a figure appeared. It was hard to tell whether it was male or female, with the long blonde hair and the curvy body and black dress. The figure held a strange-looking staff in one hand, the end shaped like a crescent moon, and six wings of energy grew out from its back . "It's pretty neat, in any case…"

Iria smacked her forehead.

"Even the BEST fighters have never been able to beat this program… it's what's called the Impossible Fight…"

"I'm going to try anyway!"

Ratix brandished his sword and charged the figure, and he slashed, only to hit nothing but air as the figure vanished in a blur and reappeared behind him swinging its staff, sending him "crashing" into a crystal formation. It felt so real, too, from the initial hit to the crashing!

"Is that all?" the figure spoke in a genderless, angelic voice "You're pathetic!"

Ratix growled and jumped back up and charged the figure again. This time, however, the figure took a stance as some sort of spherical aura surrounded it, and Ratix didn't even hit the figure with his sword, rather he hit the field and was sent flying backwards again.

"Ratix!" Milly yelled, casting a healing spell on him.

"Ohh, now THAT tears it…" Ratix growled, running forward again as the figure dodged him again and took another stance, its wings glowing brightly.

"Meteor Swarm." the figure muttered as a vortex opened from out of nowhere and a huge group of flaming meteors blasted through it and towards Ratix.

"Well, sh--"

Ratix wasn't able to finish this as he was surprised when it all disappeared, Iria at a panel on the wall.

"Good thing I shut that down…" Iria sighed "That thing was about to toast you."

"Uhh, thanks, I guess. Even so, that was fun."

Milly and Iria sighed, and shook their heads.

"Come on, you two, let's go look at something else."

With that, they were out of that room. There was more exploration, including a trip to the crew lounge, where not only did Ratix and Milly encounter another "virtual" program that allowed them to walk around in a perfect replica of the fields outside of Clatos, but a strange machine that made them their favorite meals by just asking for them. It was really strange, but great nonetheless.

Milly was still nursing a fruit parfait as they reached the bottom floor of the ship.

"And this is the entry point of the Calnus, and the end of our tour," Iria said "So, did you like the tour?"

"Yeah, it was pretty good," Ratix stated "My favorite part was that replicator thing…. Man, it made perfect food."

"No kidding…" Milly said with a smile, finishing off her favorite dessert "Best parfait I've had in ages…"

"I'm glad you liked it," Iria smiled "Anyway…"

Suddenly, a voice came out of nowhere, it was Ronixis'.

"Hey, could you come back to the medical center? I'm coming there myself.. The doctor says he may have found something."

"Where and HOW did that happen?" Ratix cried, looking around confusedly.

"That was the intercom," Iria said "It allows us to talk to people from far away. It's kind of hard to explain…"

"Everything's 'kind of' hard to explain." Milly complained.

"Well, if I tried explaining the whole process of how it works, would you understand?"

Milly shook her head.

"I guess not. I'm really sorry if I sound a little whiny."

"I'm sure you're just worried about your friend."

"Yeah, that's probably it."

"But it sounds like the doctor may have found something out."

"Maybe he's found the cure…?"

"Don't know. Only one way to find out."

Once again, they arrived in the medical center, where Ronixis and the doctor were waiting.

"Well?" Milly asked "Did you cure him!"

"Patience, miss…" Ronixis retorted "The doctor would like to say something."

"Okay, okay."

The doctor cleared his throat before beginning.

"With the results of my investigations into your friend's condition, I've managed to single out the microbes causing it. I have figured out the cause thanks to this information… Bad news is… It's impossible to cure, even with our modern and advanced medical knowledge…"

"But… but! I thought you had TONS of advanced knowledge! I-I-I… Did you make sure and check?" Milly shrieked, grabbing the doctor by the shirt and shaking him wildly, before being pulled back by Ratix and Iria.

"M-m-miss! For the very reason we have all this knowledge, also means there are times when we can tell when something like this is impossible…! This… this microbe transforms itself at tremendous speeds. Even if we made a vaccine, its effect would quickly vanish."

Milly hung her head.

"But," the doctor continued "This doesn't man there is not a method available to cure it. From its structure, it would seem that this virus is naturally occurring, in other words, there is something out there still around that contains this same virus, the original virus. If we can find the creature who has it, the original host, we can obtain its blood and make a serum…"

"So, he can be saved?" Milly asked with relief.

__

"We don't exactly have time to look for this host, though…" Ratix thought to himself.

The doctor nodded, before continuing.

"It's strange, but even when petrified, the atomic structure of the people affected stays preserved. It doesn't matter whether they've become stone or not. Give them the serum, and they will be cured.If they were stone, they'd return to being flesh."

Ratix and Milly looked quite confused.

"Don't worry if you can't understand." Iria said "Just know that we can turn him, and everyone else back to normal. Question is.. Why would Resonia do this in the first place? Why did they unleash this weapon on Roak?"

"Roak?" Ratix asked, tilting his head.

"The name we have given your planet," Ronixis replied "But I'm with Iria…. What, if anything would Resonia gain by turning the people of Roak into stone? It would seem we have a mystery on our hands… But what also worries me is that Resonia wouldn't just LET us have the identity of the original host."

Suddenly, sirens began to go off, Ratix and Milly looking around very confused.

"We've got a problem!" came a voice from the intercom "Alien life forms have appeared in the transporter room!"

"What? Doctor, look after Dorn! Ratix, Milly, Iria, come on!"

And so they followed the Captain through the door and back up the moving floors to the transporter rooms. The person in charge of the transporter had hidden himself behind his station, holding some sort of odd gun. Meanwhile, crawling on the transporter deck was a familiar sight, to the Fellpools at least.

"What are these?" Ronixis asked, scratching his chin.

"Fellworms…" Milly responded.

"Looks like they managed to lay their eggs on us back on… Roak." Ratix concluded.

"To make things worse…" the transporter guy said "Phasers… they don't work on them!"

"What?" Ronixis sighed "Then how are we supposed to--"

"Leave it to us," Ratix said, walking up onto the deck, Milly following.

"Will you be okay?"

"We managed to get all the way here, didn't we?"

"Er, right. Be careful."

One of the Fellworms hissed and rushed Milly, who jumped out of the way, landing on her face. The worm gurgled at this opportunity and leapt to bite, only to get smashed aside by the force of Ratix's shoulder. It got up again, and another one of its buddies came at Ratix as well. But Ratix just stood there as the creatures rushed.

"Ratix, what are you doing?" Ronixis yelled.

Suddenly, and swiftly with insane grace, Ratix took a stance and held his sword out and downward and suddenly whirled around a full circle. Blasts of some sort of energy trailed behind the sword's path, both the sword and these tore through the creatures, and they rolled a little, before stopping. There was no more movement.

Milly had managed to get herself into her own situation, as she leapt and dodged away from another Fellworm, kicking and smacking it whenever it came near.

"Aieegh, get away!" she squeaked.

But Ratix quickly came to her aid, finishing the creature off with a swipe from his sword.

"That takes care of that," he said.

But, suddenly, another Fellworm flew out from the shadows and sank its teeth into Ratix, and he quickly smacked it off, some of his blood flew onto it, before he retorted with a good slash, killing the thing instantly.

"Guess there was one… left." Ratix groaned, rubbing his shoulder as Milly cast a spell on it. He then turned to the Earthlings, who were… confused? "What? It was just a scratch."

"That's not it." Ronixis said "The creature… it's gone!"

"No…" Milly said, walking up to it, and kicking it "It's right there!"

"That's… impossible. I can't see it, and neither can Iria or… Wait, you two can see it?"

"Well, yeah." Ratix said.

Ronixis and Iria looked at each other quizzically.

"It vanished the moment Ratix's blood was shed…"

"It certainly did," Iria said in agreement "Wait, what? It… Hmm. Hey, you, get this cleaned up. The rest of us are going to go back to the medical center."

"Yes'm!" the transporter guy said, nodding.

And soon, they were back in the medical center.

"Doctor, since you've had to scan Dorn's body… Is there anything, uh, different about Roakians and other humanoid life forms?"

"Well," the doctor began "Structures of the organs, cells, and everything else is the same, but… Unlike other humanoid life forms, they're made up of different things than the others. Well, such as, the hemoglobin in their blood contains copper instead of iron, among many other things. It's a substance that has never been discovered before!"

"Hmm," Iria said "Then, maybe, just maybe there is a reason for Resonia to turn the people of Roak into stone… Maybe that's why they dropped chemical weapons upon it…"

"But, Iria," Ronixis said "What would there to be gained through such methods?"

"Think about what the doctor just said. A previously unknown substance. There's a possibility that's what Resonia is after."

"For some kind of weapon, maybe?"

"It's possible. Not only that, but one that wouldn't appear on radar."

"Then, they're killing us to make a weapon?" Milly asked.

"Maybe. We can't exactly make that conclusion yet."

"It, well, it actually makes sense to me." Ratix said "I mean, from everything you've said, and everything I've seen here… It's actually a possibility."

"That would mean that there would be a lot of missing stone statues on Roak." Ronixis said "I'm going to the bridge to see if we can check."

And so, he was out the door again.

"Doctor," Iria said turning to him "Out of all the things that can be made from turning Roakian blood into stone, use the computer to simulate any kind of objects or weaponry that could be made."

"But!" the doctor protested "There's literally millions of combinations! It would take forever to figure it out."

Iria crossed her arms and glared.

"It's all we can do, though. So hop to it!"

"That is true. I'll get started immediately."

Some time later, Ratix and Milly were watching Dorn. Milly was watching, for the most part, but Ratix had drifted off into thought again. He sighed and looked at Milly.

"It all… it all turned out like this because I thought ordinary, everyday life was boring," he said.

"That's not it at all, Ratix," Milly said, looking at him "There was nothing we could've done about this. I think the Fates had planned this all along…"

"But…"

"If only I were stronger, maybe all this never would have happened."

Their conversation was however cut short by the Doctor.

"The Captain wants you on the bridge. Take the elevator to your left, the bridge is the only place it will go, although I'm sure you were probably already told that. I think they've found something important."

The two nodded, and left. It didn't take them too long to get to the bridge at all. Could it be that they were finally starting to get used to this wacky place? The bridge was gigantic, bustling with all sorts of people at their stations doing their duties. Ronixis was sitting at a large chair in the middle, and he quickly got up and turned to them.

"We've got some news," he said "Iria?"

Iria came from her station and looked at them.

"Okay, when we checked the number of stone humanoid statues the first time, well, that number is a lot different now," she said "At least twenty million, to be exact. I wonder how they could have grabbed them without us seeing?"

"Then it has to be…" Ratix began.

"Well, we still don't know if it's for a weapon or not."

"But there's no doubt in my mind that it has no peaceful connotations to it," Ronixis added, as Iria glared at him "Sorry, sorry. Anyway, it's been decided that we will head back to our home planet, which we call Earth. You will be diplomats to Roak, and we will see if we can get Resonia to give us the identity of the host of the disease. It's not that unreasonable to ask. I need you to make a report with me, so I will need you to come along."

Suddenly, the doctor's voice came from over the intercom.

"Dorn's condition's taking a turn for the worse…. You need to get over here, now."

"Right."

As soon as they got back to the medical center, they could see Dorn was already in pain.

"His vital organs are beginning to petrify. He is close to… well, for a lack of a better word, dying."

"Dorn, no…" Ratix sighed.

"C-c-captain…" Don groaned "I… I have a request."

"What is it?" Ronixis asked.

"When… when I… die, I want to be at home."

"You're not going to die…. You're just going to fall into a stone slumber for a while."

Dorn frowned.

"But what if… what if you're not able to cure… What if you don't get the serum? Please… As my possibly last request."

"Alright. Doctor, prepare for transport."

"Yes sir." the doctor replied.

"We want to go with Dorn, too." Milly said.

"But you two can't--" Ronixis protested, as Ratix came forward.

"We'll come back after we see him off," Ratix said "We promise."

"Okay, okay. I'll have Iria escort you, anyway."

"Thank you." the Fellpools said.

Quickly, they headed to the transporter room yet again, with Dorn in tow, the doctor helped him with getting there.

"Doctor, transport Dorn directly into his bed."

"Understood." the doctor replied.

"Iria, take care of the rest."

She nodded as the transporter started up. This time, Milly didn't panic when the teleportation feeling happened. In seconds, they were in Dorn's house, Dorn under his covers. The technology was really accurate to be able to do that.

"Wait," Dorn said "There's something want to give you before I die…"

"Dorn, you are not going to die," Milly growled "You're just going to be sleeping for a while."

"It doesn't matter. Take… take that music box from the top shelf."

Ratix quickly got the box and returned to his former place.

"I'm giving that to you, Milly," Dorn said, as Ratix handed it to her."

"But… this was your sister's," Milly said "I.. I can't take this."

"Go ahead and take it. Just in case, you know?"

Milly opened the box, and a tune began to play. The Roakians knew the song as "Take a Fancy", it was a very popular love tune.

"M… my sister… gave it… to… me." Dorn groaned, before falling silent and completely turned into stone. Iria turned around and sighed, as Milly fell to the floor, crying, Ratix patting her shoulder, before turning to Dorn.

"Dorn," Ratix sighed, clenching his fist "Don't worry, we'll get you, and everyone else back to normal. I swear it… I swear it on my life."

****

To Be Continued

Author's Notes

Phew! That was a LONG chapter to write! Just a little bit more than eleven full pages, and over 4700 words! I didn't want to skip out on most of the details here. There was just so much to write for this part. Granted, that fight on the holodeck never happens, but I just had to write it. Don't think that's all you'll see of Gabriel Celestia in this fic, though. It will be back in a future chapter.

Once again, thanks go out to all my readers, and of course, Mr. Greiner for his always constant advice and help. Til next chapter, cadets…

****

Edit Note (6-14-05)

A few dialogue and error fixes have been added since the initial posting.


	7. Welcome to URTH

**Star Ocean: The Novel**

**Chapter 6: Welcome to URTH**

It had been several weeks since Dorn had turned to stone and the Calnus continued on its way to the planet the Humans called Earth. Milly and Ratix had begun to get used to the strange, new things the ship had provided. Ratix continued to train on the Holodeck, but no matter how much he practiced, the Impossible Fight lived up to its name… That angel was too much for Ratix no matter how hard he tried.

As for Milly, she was busy learning how to use the devices the Earthlings called computers. While she was learning much, the keyboard, as it was called was a little unwieldy, an learning the home key stuff was nearly impossible. So she began to type with what the earthlings called the Hunt and Peck Method. Usually she just stuck to playing card games on the thing, at least the Earthlings had SOMETHING familiar enough on these things. But she was starting to get used to using them now.

Ronixis seemed quite engrossed in his duties ever since Dorn's succumbing to the disease. But in actuality, he was quite worried, not just for the people of Roak, but the Federation as well. Whatever Resonia was planning, it had to be big. It could quite possibly jeopardize everything that the people of Earth had worked for, to make up for their mistakes in the past. Plus, there was… her. Even now, he continued to think of her. This new disease was eerily familiar to that…

Like Ronixis, Iria was quite worried about the same things as he was. She also knew something else was up with him…. Probably something to do with what happened to his late wife. This disease had to remind him of what happened to her back then, she thought.

At this moment, Ratix was once again trying to beat the angel from the holodeck, but once again he failed miserably, as the angel laughed at him before the program shut down. Milly was attempting once again to memorize the home row keys, she was finally making some progress with it. Suddenly, they got a call from Ronixis to come to the bridge, and they immediately obeyed.

In fact, they arrived at the same exact time.

"Wonder if this means we're to that Earth place yet…" Milly said.

"Who knows," Ratix answered "But any news is good news."

"Ah, there you two are." Ronixis said, getting up from his chair "We'll be entering Earth orbit pretty soon, so just sit tight."

"Gotcha."

The two looked at the viewscreen as a big, blue, white and brown planet came into view.

"So, this is Earth?" Milly asked.

"Yes, yes it is." Ronixis replied "It's quite lovely, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, it is."

"It used to be a lot more beautiful, though," Ronixis said with a sigh and a frown.

"Hard to believe there were more places like our own in that big ocean of stars," Ratix said "But now that I've seen it for myself, it isn't that hard to believe."

"Hey, what's that!" Milly squeaked, pointing at something on the screen…. Only to the Earthlings, there was nothing there.

"What do you mean?" Ronixis asked "I don't see--"

And, then, that's when a few ships suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Those are Resonian ships!" cried one of the workers.

"How could they have--" Ronixis grumbled.

"No space distortions or anything…. They just suddenly appeared. They weren't on the radar or anything, so how could they have appeared from nowhere?"

"Invisible matter!" Iria said with realization "That's what they were up to with the Roakians…."

"Indeed, it was one of the possibilities the Doctor came up with," Ronixis stated as a beep came "Hmm, they're hailing us. Open a channel to the flagship and get it onscreen!"

"On it," said another one of the workers. The screen changed from that of the view into space to what appeared to be the bridge of another ship. On the screen were a pair of strange men in white. These men were stout and seemed to have no hair to speak of, with childish heads and beady looking eyes.

"State your business."

"We are ambassadors of the planet of Resonia and the Resonian Empire," said the one on the right.

"And we would like to talk with you as soon as we can," said the left one "We come here in peace, not in war like originally intended when we started this project."

"Alright, we'll be waiting for you at Federation headquarters." Ronixis said, as the connection was closed.

"Well, we certainly dodged a bullet there," Iria said "Could you imagine if they didn't change their minds? They could possibly have completely obliterated the Federation…"

"We'll have to see what they have to say first. Full speed ahead to the Federation HQ!"

"Aye aye!" replied the pilot.

**Earth Federation Headquarters**

Ronixis, Iria, Ratix, and Milly sat on one side of the table, while the Resonian ambassadors and their guards sat at the other. At the top end sat the commander of the Federation and his guards.

"So, you've come to talk peace, have you?" asked the commander.

"Yes, yes we have," said one ambassador "The people who gave us the virus and the formula for the Invisible Matter Cloaking technology are the ones responsible for the incident on Roak."

"You're the ones who dropped the weapons on Roak, though," Iria said "Therefore, you are as responsible as whoever these other people are… if there are any other people."

"Quite right," replied the other ambassador "However, there really is a third party involved. They preyed on our feelings for the Federation from during and after we lost the war. They are highly advanced, maybe even moreso than us or you."

"I see…" Ronixis said quietly, as he continued to listen to what the Resonian ambassadors had to say.

"When we tried not to comply, they threatened us," sighed the first ambassador "Their technology was advanced enough for us to realize that if we resisted, they could have destroyed us. So we went along with the idea, not only because we felt threatened, but because we wanted to even the score from our loss to you. However, after we perfected the technology and handed some of it to them, they stopped contacting us, and this is when we decided to chance contacting you about this grave matter."

"Telling us all this is reassuring," the commander said "But it's not enough. You broke the laws of the Treaty to accomplish your original goal. However, turning over information on this mystery group and the virus would possibly make things much better for you."

"The only thing we know about the mystery group," the second ambassador said "Is that they are highly advanced, and that they said that they came from a planet called Fargett."

"Never heard of that planet," Iria said "I guess it's one we have not discovered yet. Probably out of our current reach."

"Yes, that would make sense," Ronixis said "Their technology is probably advanced enough for them to create wormholes and the like to faraway places. Wormhole technology, as you know, is still being studied and tested within the Federation and its allies to no success at this point in time."

"And what about the original owner of the virus?" the commander asked "Where can they be found?"

"They, well, they can't." the first ambassador replied with a sigh and frown "The Fargett people acquired the virus from the original host three centuries ago, from what they said. The original owner has long since died. According to them, however, the original host was from Roak. But only they know the identity of the host. We were never told anything else…"

"Then it appears there is nothing we can do about what has happened. With the source of the virus long dead, it appears… we will have to abandon our concerns with Roak. It is a sad turn of events, but…"

When Ratix heard this, he was angry. Infuriated, even.

"What do you MEAN, abandon Roak!" he howled, rushing at the commander, but was held back by his guards AND Ronixis and Iria. "You're just going to ABANDON us after you promised to help!"

"There's nothing we can do, Ratix." Iria sighed "We're terribly sorry."

"No… DAMN IT!" Ratix hissed as he fell to the floor "Damn it…"

Milly was very close to tears at this point, but she managed to keep from crying and sighed, looking at Ratix sadly. Dorn was gone, and they couldn't go back. It was useless to cry or protest.

A little while later, the group was left by themselves again. Both Milly and Ratix said nothing, and just sat there, looking glum. Ronixis sighed, and stood up.

"Well." he began "Guess you two will have to assimilate into being on Earth now. According to our laws and systems, the both of you are still of schooling age. You will have to be enrolled in school, and… well, you might have to be taken into custody by guardians of some sort."

Both just looked at him with tired and empty eyes.

He sighed. "And, well, it may not be together, and maybe not even close to each other. From what you've said, you lived in a small town, right? Well, this is a gigantic city. You may wind up on opposite sides, and might not even get into the same school. And, well, I don't think time that far apart would be best as of right now."

"So… we might not see each other for weeks, if not months?" Ratix finally spoke up.

"Afraid so, Ratix."

"Is there any way… you can keep that from happening?" Milly asked "I mean, you are pretty important, or so I've seen. Is there a chance you can keep that from happening?"

"Really, Captain, she does have a point," Iria said, walking in "You do have the authority to do so, you know."

Ronixis nodded. "That's true. We might go up before a court, though. You know how things can be with the bureaucrats."

Iria giggled "For someone who's authoritative, you sure can be quite the opposite sometimes."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a regular James T. Kirk."

Iria laughed out loud, pounding her hand on the desk, and the Fellpools just blinked in confusion, before adding fake laughter. Even Ronixis laughed.

But then he want serious.

"Seriously, though, that might just happen. But… I'll see what I can do in any case. I can't promise anything, though, but we may be able to at least get you in the same school."

"Couldn't you be our guardians?" Milly asked suddenly "You've looked after us pretty well so far, and, well, I really wouldn't feel comfortable with strangers."

"Yeah," Ratix said with a nod "We really couldn't be with anyone else. Could get used to it, I suppose, but… I'd rather be with you guys."

Iria looked at them incredulously.

"Uhh, well, I dunno about that. That would be a tough thing to get. Being in the same school's a lot easier than that. Besides, I and the Captain don't live together when we're off duty. And, well, I don't have the room for two teenagers…"

"In any case, we should try and ask for that, anyway," Ronixis replied "No promises, but… We'll try. I'll send a request to see the court right away."

And with that, he sauntered out the door, the other three following.

It didn't take long, however, and thy were able to see the court immediately. After much arguments and points from both sides of the case, a conclusion was reached. Ratix and Milly would go to the same school, and it would be tried for them to get most of their classes with each other. As for living arrangements, the court ruled that they would be wards of the state, and therefore they could be taken care of by authority figures. Which meant Ronixis and Iria would be their guardians. Ratix would go with Ronixis, and Milly with Iria, much to Ronixis' amusement and Iria's bemusement. Well, at least she'd only have to take care of one, and another female to be precise, so it evened out alright.

Soon after that, Iria and Ronixis now settled for their places of residence, taking their corresponding Fellpool wards with them. Interestingly enough, the two didn't live very far from each other at all, just a couple blocks. Iria found this amusing, Ronixis just found it coincidental.

It didn't take long to settle in to their new places of residence, Iria had a small apartment, but there was enough room to harbor Milly, as for Ratix, Ronixis' house was fairly large, it appeared that someone else had lived with him some time ago, but Ronixis didn't seem to like discussing it.

After about a week or so, the two Roakians were finally enrolled in school. It was a strange place to be, and getting used to it would probably take a while… But as luck would have it, something else would soon come up…

**Outside the School**

"I never thought it would come to this," Milly said with a sigh, her tail frizzing a little "Getting an education in some building instead of at home like we would on Roak… Guess parents don't teach their kids here, they have others do it for them."

"Yeah, I guess so," Ratix said, his head hung over his books "Normal, boring life once again. Different place, different way, same old thing."

"Well, at least we can be ourselves when we get home. And with Iria and Ronixis, too."

"Yeah, I guess. I still think about our families and Dorn…"

"Yeah, me, too. But there's nothing we can do about it now…"

Ratix frowned. "I wish there was. I really wish there was."

And that's when they got to the set of apartments that Iria, and now Milly called home. However, before they could go inside the complex, out came Iria in a green blouse and black jeans

"There you two are!" she said with a smile "How was your second day of school?"

"It was fine," Ratix said unevenly "But what are you doing out here, Iria?"

"Oh! The Capt-- err, Ronixis, wants to meet us all at the café down the street. He says he may have found something to help."

Café Federate, the aforementioned café, was pretty much their meeting ground and place for general chitchat, though serious things did get discussed every once in a while. It sure looked as if this was going to be one of those serious days.

"Then, let's go," Milly said.

Both Ratix and Iria nodded as they left for the café.

**Café Federate**

The three were greeted by Ronixis and they sat down quickly and ordered their drinks.

"So, what did you want to talk to us about?" Iria asked.

"It's about Roak and the virus," Ronixis said "Do you want to hear it?"

"Yes, but, it's rather impossible to do anything about it now. Without the original host, there's nothing we can do."

"Not impossible. Just rather improbable. There IS a way for us to search for the host."

At that moment, the drinks came. Coffee for the earthlings, a glass of iced tea for Ratix, and a strawberry smoothie for Milly.

"I don't know what you mean, Captain," Iria said, taking a sip of her coffee "How are we supposed to go back in t… Captain, you better not be thinking of what I think you are! You know going THERE is forbidden by the Federation!"

"Maybe so," Ronixis replied "But it might be our only chance of finding the host, obtaining their blood, creating the serum and saving Roak."

"Captain, you don't know what you're saying…"

"I say we do it, whatever it is," Ratix said suddenly "If it gives us a chance to save mine and Milly's planet, then we should try, at least."

"Yeah!" Milly replied "If it will end all of this suffering, we should do it. Well, whatever 'it' is."

"There was a planet that was discovered through an attempt at deep space exploration…" Ronixis began "There we found some ruins that were definitely not made by anyone we had even known of. It turned out that there was a device there that could create gates through time, but only for the right reasons. Going there was made forbidden so it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. Only the Earth Federation's military even knows about it."

"Planet Styx," Iria said "Ironically named as the gate supposedly goes to the 'other side'. The Captain has a point. It could be our only hope. But you do realize that the officials probably wouldn't let us go there."

"Then we'll just have to go there without their permission."

Iria's eyes bulged. "And face a court marshal for doing it? Captain…"

"You do know that if we succeed, the Federation would overlook our actions."

"Alright, alright, let's go then," Iria groaned in defeat "Let's finish up here, get dressed in our regular clothes, and to the Calnus. It's worth a shot."

Milly and Ratix looked at each other and smiled. So there was a way after all.

Federation HQ

Back in their old clothes, Ratix and Milly followed behind the once again uniformed Ronixis and Iria as they went on through the halls to the port and the waiting Calnus. As soon as they got to the entrance to the port, two guards were waiting.

"Captain Kenni and Vice Captain Silvestoli, what brings you here?" asked one.

"Oh, we're just here to check up on the Calnus," Ronixis answered "Nothing major."

"Well, according to our reports, the inspection teams say everything is a-OK."

"Still, I'd like to check myself."

"Okay, sir, you can pass."

"Thank you," Ronixis responded with a nod, as the two guards let the four through.

"Wonder what that was all about?" the second guard answered.

"Ah, probably just what he said. There's no other reason they'd go there, is there?"

"That's true. It's probably nothing."

After more traveling and views of other ships, the group arrived at the entry point of the Calnus, where one of the technicians was pacing around.

"Captain Kenni, what are you doing here?" he asked, a bit befuddled "I don't remember the Calnus being ready for any departures or anything…."

"Routine check," Iria said "We won't be long."

"Uh, right. Go on in."

Quickly, the group got themselves to the bridge.

"Alright, let's get going," Ronixis said, sitting in his personal chair while Iria took to one of the side consoles "It will take us a few more weeks to get to Styx, but it will be worth it."

"Will everything be alright?" Ratix asked with concern.

"The computers will handle everything."

"Right. Well, I'm going to the holodeck.."

"I'll stay here and try to learn more about these computers," Milly said with a grin "I've discovered so little already, and learning more is a must."

Ratix chuckled to himself and made an exit. There was hope for everything to work out after all. He felt good for the first real time in forever. Now if only he could beat that program.

Soon enough, the Calnus took off, leaving the guards and crew bewildered. And soon, it was on its way to the world known simply as Styx.

Planet Styx

It took shorter than expected to get to Styx, about the same time as between Earth and Roak. Styx was quite small, only about the size of the Earth moon. It was barren, save the wisps of clouds and loud, whipping winds there, and the large device at the north pole.

"This is it," Ronixis said, pointing to the large device. It had steps going up to it, a large black circular thing, surrounded by walls on half of it, and a strange roof. The thing was engraved with many strange runes and symbols as well "This is the secret of Planet Styx… The time gate.."

"So if we go through here, we'll be able to get to Roak as it was three centuries ago?" Ratix asked, looking the device over.

"Pretty much," Iria replied "But will it let us do what we want to do?"

"Only one way to find out," Ronixis said, before raising his voice "Guardian of the gate! Hear our plea!"

"What is it that you desire?" an eerie, disembodied voice replied "What do you desire of me, the Guardian of the Gate of Time?"

"We want to go to planet Roak, as it existed three hundred years ago. It's the only way to save its people at this point in time."

"Hmm. Your mind and spirit says you speak the truth. Your intentions are noble enough. I will let you through, but only on the condition that all devices of advancement and aggression, save your translation devices will not be going with you. Do you accept my terms?"

Quickly, they shed their weapons and technological advancements. After his was done, the platform clicked, and the outer walls began to turn themselves, and soon a loud whistle sounded as a round, but octagon-shaped portal flew open, swirling a mixture of blues, blacks, and purples. The group looked on in awe for a few minutes before continuing on. Ronixis and Milly went in first, and then Ratix and Iria followed. However, as Iria walked up the steps, she tripped, and Ratix pulled her back up.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she replied, brushing herself off.

And then, they went into the portal after their partners. They fell through what seemed like an eternity of blue, black, and purple waves, and then it ended with a loud whistle and thud, as they slipped out of consciousness.

After what seemed like forever, Ratix finally came to and pulled himself up. It appeared he was on a very familiar beach. It was, indeed, the beach south of Clatos that he used to go to as a kid. It looked a bit more rocky and messy, but otherwise it was fine. Also, it appeared that it was nighttime. Quickly, he looked around a bit, and found Iria, who woke up after a poke with his foot.

"Did… did we make it?" she muttered, getting up.

"As far as I can tell," Ratix said "Yes. We made it. But where are Ronixis and Milly?"

"They went in first," Iria groaned "When I tripped, it must have changed something for us. Who knows where they wound up? They could be anywhere on Roak, you know."

"Well, the only thing we can do is go and look for them before we find the host of that virus. That should be our top priority."

"Too true. I suppose we should get going."

"If I'm right, Clatos should be about thirty minutes north from here. Back 300 years ago, it was just a small village, surrounded by trees, I think. Used to grow lots of apples and stuff."

"Well, then, let's get moving."

Ratix nodded, and they began to walk north. After about thirty minutes, they reached the gate to Clatos Village just as the dawn broke. Little did they know that this was but the start of an enormous adventure full of revelations, new friends, new enemies, and old ones as well. So out of the frying pan, and into the fire they went.

To Be Continued

Author's Notes

Well, that took me a while! Writer's block, edits, illegal ops of Microsoft Works, not being able to fit writing in my schedule, and forgetting to save constantly all factored in to this terribly long wait. Hopefully, this won't happen again, at least for a while. Next up is going to be a rather short and silly chapter. If you've played the game, you'll know why. Also, if you've played the game all the way through, you probably noticed the reference to something much later in the game in the title of this chapter. As to what that is, I'm not saying. You'll have to figure it for yourselves, cadets. ;)


End file.
